Sports betting – Page 149

July 1, 2022

888 completes £1.95bn acquisition of William Hill assets

Online operator 888 has completed its acquisition of William Hill’s non-US assets from Caesars for £1.95bn (€2.25bn/$2.35bn), and has announced the group’s new leadership team.

888 had initially agreed in September 2021 to acquire the non-US business of William Hill. This came soon after US operator Caesars acquired the entire William Hill business for approximately £2.90bn, with the intent to dispose of all but its US assets.

Originally, the purchase price for the deal was £2.2bn. However, 888 and Caesars agreed to reduce the purchase price to acquire the assets by £250m, with the cash portion of the deal now set at £584.9m instead of £834.9m.

This, it said, was due to a “change in the macro-economic and regulatory environment”, but at the time it also revealed that the William Hill business’ licence to operate in Great Britain was under review.

After receiving shareholder approval last month, the deal has now closed today.

“I am delighted to announce the completion of our trans..

July 1, 2022

GiG pens new deals in Portugal and Spain

Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) has signed two new agreements with operators in Spain and Portugal, supplying its platform services to both.

Under the deals, GiG subsidiary Sportnco will sign with Caravel Entertainment Limited in Portugal – which operates online casino brand Moosh – and an unnamed online operator in Spain.

GiG acquired Sportnco in April of this year, in a deal worth €51.3m (£43.2m/$56.7m).

Caravel will then use the Sportnco sportsbook for the moosh.pt website.

“We are very proud to sign this contract with Moosh, a new GiG customer in the demanding and attractive Portuguese market,” said Hervé Schlosser, managing director of Sportnco. “Moosh.pt has great ambitions domestically and there is no doubt that we are perfectly positioned to be able to respond positively to the new dynamics of this growing Portuguese operator.”

Martin Bengtsson, CEO at Moosh.pt, said that the deal will allow the operator to upgrade its sportsbook offering.

“It has been a long process to fin..

June 30, 2022

Betfred Sports switches to OpenBet in Iowa

Betfred Sports has expanded its partnership with OpenBet having selected its digital and retail technology across its operations in the US state of Iowa.

Betfred’s Grand Falls Casino & Golf Resort sportsbook facility is now powered by OpenBet’s retail solutions including betting counters and self-service kiosks. Betfred will also utilise OpenBet’s digital technology and sports betting engine for mobile and online betting.

The two groups have already partnered for Betfred’s entry into the Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana and Pennsylvania regulated markets.

Bryan Bennett, chief operating officer at Betfred, said: “OpenBet’s products and technology perform consistently across our existing locations, so naturally we entrusted the company to power our offering in Iowa. We first launched in Iowa in 2020, and we look forward to working with OpenBet to continue building on that success.”

Betfred had launched in Iowa with an Optima-powered product, though it used the technology of Openbet owner..

June 30, 2022

NFL hires first sports betting executive

The NFL, the most popular sports league in the US, has hired David Highhill as vice president, general manager of sports betting; the first executive the league has had dedicated to sports betting.

Highhill will lead the league’s efforts to reduce the effects of gambling-related harm, advance the value of the NFL’s brand and reputation, support fan engagement, as well as improve the value of the NFL’s data and intellectual property.

He has been with the NFL for 10 years, and will move from the corporate strategy group, where he previously led the league’s analytics department.

The NFL already has a number of sports betting partnership agreements, most recently with 888sport, which will be the league’s official sports betting partner in both the UK and Ireland until 2025.

In the US, FOX Bet, BetMGM, PointsBet, and WynnBET were announced as official partners last year, alongside Caesars, FanDuel and DraftKings.

June 30, 2022

US representatives call on DoJ to shut down Bovada, MyBookie and BetOnline

A total of 28 US representatives have signed a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice, calling for a crackdown on offshore operators, particularly Bovada, MyBookie and BetOnline.

The effort was led by Dina Titus and Guy Reschenthaler, co-chairs of the Congressional Gaming Caucus, and was signed by 26 other representatives.

The letter described offshore sportsbooks as “predatory operations” that “expose our constituents to financial and cyber vulnerabilities; do not have protocols to address money laundering, sports integrity, or age restrictions; and undermine states’ efforts to capture much needed tax revenue through legal sports betting channels”.

The letter called out three well-known offshore operators by name, saying that sites including Bovada, MyBookie and BetOnline “have developed sophisticated platforms that are nearly indistinguishable from those of legal providers”.

These sites – it also noted – are “frequently cited in reputable sports ..

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Tag: Sports betting